Uttarakhand cloudburst, landslides: 4 dead, many families buried under rubble

Four people were killed and three went missing as heavy rains and cloudbursts wreaked havoc in various districts of Uttarakhand early Friday (August 29), triggering landslides that left about 30-40 families buried under mounds of rubble and damaged houses, officials said.

Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri, and Bageshwar were among the districts hard hit by the natural calamity.

The Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) here said excess overnight rainfall damaged nearly half a dozen houses in Pausari Gram Panchayat in Kapkot area of Bageshwar district, killing two people and leaving three others missing.

Two bodies have been recovered so far in the incident, while three other people are missing, it said. A house and a cowshed were buried under landslide debris in Mopata village of Chamoli district, killing a couple and leaving another injured, Chief Development Officer Abhishek Tripathi said.

Incessant rain, landslides

Incessant rain and landslides in the Basukedaar area of Rudraprayag district have caused heavy damage in more than half a dozen villages, officials said.

In Dungar village of Chenagadh, some people are missing in the landslide debris and floods. The same situation has been reported in Jaula-Bhadeth village, where some people are reported missing in the floods.

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A house has been damaged in Syur village of the same area while a car parked on the road has been swept away by the debris. There is a flood in the ravines on both sides of Badeth, Bagaddhar, and Taljamani villages.

Relief and rescue work

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a post on X said, "Sad news has been received about some families being stranded due to debris falling in the wake of cloudbursts in Badeth Dungar under Tehsil Basukedaar area of Rudraprayag district and Dewal area of Chamoli district. Relief and rescue work is being carried out on a war footing by the local administration, I am constantly in touch with the officials in this regard, I have spoken to the Disaster Secretary and District Magistrates and given necessary instructions for effective conduct of rescue operations."

"I pray to Baba Kedar for everyone's safety," he said.

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Red alert

A red alert is in place between 8.35 am and 11.35 am in the districts of Champawat, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar, with heavy rainfall accompanied by thunder or lightning, and very intense to extremely intense rain forecast.

Heavy rain battered several parts of the state late Thursday (August 28) as an orange alert was announced in the districts of Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarkashi, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, and Rudraprayag.

Flood fury

Uttarakhand has been hit hard by natural calamities in the monsoon season.

A devastating flash flood in the Kheer Ganga River on August 5 demolished nearly half of Dharali - the key stopover en route to Gangotri with many hotels and homestays, and neighbouring Harsil, where an Army camp bore the brunt of the flood fury, barely giving time to the victims to run to safety.

Also Read: How climate change, tourism, and human greed push Uttarkashi towards disaster

A total of 69 people went missing, including nine Army personnel, 25 Nepali nationals, 13 from Bihar, six from Uttar Pradesh, eight from Dharali, five from areas close to Uttarkashi, two from Tehri, and one from Rajasthan.

(With inputs from agencies)